The Telegraph did falsely label Muslim group ‘extremist', standards agency finds

The Independent Press Standards Organisation (IPSO) has upheld a complaint by the Muslim Association of Britain (MAB) against the Telegraph newspaper for falsely labelling it an extremist organisation. The ruling comes after a protracted seven-month process, highlighting the drawn-out nature of complaints seeking to hold the mainstream media accountable for publishing misinformation about Muslims.

The article in question, penned by right-wing commentator Nick Timothy and published on 18 March 2024, claimed that MAB was “one of several organisations declared extremist by Michael Gove in Parliament last week”. However, this was found to be inaccurate, as Gove had actually stated that MAB was among organisations that “give rise to concern because of their Islamist orientation and views” and that the government would “assess whether they meet our definition of extremism and will take action as appropriate.”

IPSO found the Telegraph in breach of the Editors’ Code of Practice by failing to take care not to publish inaccurate information, and for failing to offer a correction to a significant inaccuracy with sufficient promptness. The IPSO committee deemed the inaccuracy significant enough to warrant correction.

Read: CAGE International to launch war crimes complaint against former ministers

In response to the complaint, the Telegraph acknowledged the error on 2 April, attributing it to “human error”. They subsequently published a correction on their Corrections & Clarifications page, stating: “An article ‘The Islamist threat is all too real – Gove understands it needs tackling’ (March,18) reported that Michael Gove had declared the Muslim Association of Britain extremist. In fact, Michael Gove said the Government would assess if the Muslim Association of Britain was extremist. We are happy to correct the record.”

MAB welcomed the ruling but expressed concern over the article’s contribution to harmful Islamophobic stereotypes. The organisation stated on X: “While the correction is welcome, we urge the media to reflect on their responsibility to report facts and avoid spreading harmful falsehoods.”

IPSO has upheld our complaint against @Telegraph for falsely labelling us as an extremist organisation, after Michael Gove’s abused parliamentary privilege in promoting a discredited and politicised definition of extremism.

IPSO found The Telegraph breached Clause 1(i) for… pic.twitter.com/VW41uNrjnY

— Muslim Association of Britain (MAB) (@MABOnline1) October 3, 2024

The case highlights the ongoing challenges faced by Muslim organisations in the UK media landscape, particularly in the context of discussions around extremism. MAB emphasised that the original article’s inaccuracies stemmed from Michael Gove’s use of parliamentary privilege to promote what they described as “a discredited and politicised definition of extremism”.